


The Reason for Running

by akisazame



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Gen, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-01-20
Updated: 2009-01-20
Packaged: 2018-02-24 13:02:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2582360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akisazame/pseuds/akisazame
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Why does the running kid have to run every goddamn day?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Reason for Running

Ever since he had joined the investigation team, everyone had thought of Kanji Tatsumi as "the slow one," and he knew it. It wasn't that he was slow! He just had other stuff on his mind! After what had gone on in the bathhouse with his Shadow, who could blame him, right?

When Kanji had first joined the team, Yosuke would ask him for his opinion on the case from time to time. Then the upperclassman would start spewing out dozens of facts and theories, droning on and on, until it made Kanji cross-eyed. How in the heck was he supposed to keep all this stuff straight? Yosuke probably had a notebook in his room with all of this junk written in it, pages and pages (with Yosuke+Souji scribbled in the corners, no doubt -- shit, for all his homophobia, Yosuke was obviously the gay one). After a couple of weeks had passed, though, Yosuke starting talking to Kanji less and less about the case and more about useless shit like animal crackers. Not that Kanji minded -- animal crackers were great, after all -- but it was kind of awkward to no longer be considered smart enough to contribute apart from smashing Shadows with a Yasogami High school desk.

But that was all going to end today. Kanji had his own theory about the murders, one that he'd been thinking about ever since he'd been rescued. On June 21st, he woke up early and headed towards school, stopping underneath a tree about a block away. He was pissed that it was raining today; it was hard to lie in wait when you had a giant umbrella over your head. He tried to be discreet as he stood under the tree, watching other students walk by -- well, as discreet as a 6 foot tall burly guy with bleached blond hair could be.

Kanji was beginning to fear that he would be late for school when he finally spotted the person he'd been waiting for. He was running at top speed, just like always, somehow managing to hold his umbrella perfectly upright as he did. Darting out from behind the tree, Kanji attempted to bar the running student's path, but the kid easily sidestepped him like it was nothing. The punk was agile, that's for sure; probably a useful trait to have when you're stuffing people into TVs. "Hey, wait up, punk!" Kanji shouted, breaking into a run behind the other student.

The running kid was fast, that's for sure. Guess you got that way when you ran to school every day, Kanji figured. Not to mention what _other_ things he might be running from -- the _cops,_ perhaps? Still, Kanji had long legs, so while he wasn't able to catch up to the guy, he was at least able to keep pace. He followed the kid through the school gates and into the building. Luckily for Kanji, he had no choice but to stop at the shoe lockers, and he took that opportunity to grab the kid by the shoulders and turn him around.

"Hey, punk, don't you respond when people talk to you? Or you got somethin' to hide?" He shoved the kid up against the lockers, resisting the urge to pick him up by the shirt -- for now, anyway.

It was obvious the kid was terrified. Who wouldn't be, with Kanji Tatsumi chasing you to school and then slamming you against the shoe lockers? Even so, Kanji had to respect the guy a tiny bit for trying to put on a brave face. "W- what're you talking about? I d- don't have anything to hide!"

"Oh yeah? Then why the hell're you always runnin' to school every morning? You'd think that you'd get a clue after a while, y'know? Can't just be that you're sleepin' in. So what is it? Too busy plannin' who you're gonna murder next?" Kanji shoved the kid a little harder against the locker, punctuating his point.

The running kid's eyes widened until they were bigger than 500 yen coins. "T- that's not funny, man," he stammered, bravely staring back at Kanji. "You don't know anything about me!"

Kanji tightened his grip on the kid's shirt, preparing in case he tried to escape. "Yeah? Then what is it? Why're you always running? I can just call the cops right now, y'know."

"Er, well..." A crowd was starting to gather, but Kanji ignored them. The running kid, on the other hand, was painfully aware of their presence. He didn't really want to reveal his secret, which he'd meticulously hidden for years now. But if it was between that and having Kanji Tatsumi accuse him of murder, then what choice did he have? "I still watch Featherman R, alright?! I sit at home and watch the whole thing, and then I gotta run to school afterwards so I'm not late! You happy now?!"

Blinking a few times, Kanji let the kid's shirt go out of surprise. The hell? He was so confused that he didn't notice when the running kid sprinted off down the hallway and up the stairs to the safety of his classroom.

Shit. Yosuke-senpai would never let him live this down.


End file.
